Putting God first.

Sometimes in my Christian life I feel like I'm playing dress up. We all remember opening up that big trunk full of dress up clothes of every kind and pick and choosing the one we wanted. And then changing half a million times throughout the day. Having just one outfit was never enough. We would have to have multiple choices, never content with just wearing one. And with each outfit came a different personality, a different game…a different me. Of course, our own personalities would show but wear the cowboy outfit, be the cowboy. In a way, playing dress up was like trying to figure out what you truly wanted to be, and pretending to be that person.

God is a jealous God. He doesn't play second fiddle. He wants our best, deserves our best, but He also demands our best. He wants to be number one; He doesn't want a halfhearted love. Sometimes, in our Christian walk we will pick and choose whether God is number one or just somewhere else down the list. God should be the first outfit we pull out, and we shouldn't let the others overtake Him. If everything in our lives goes before God, God wouldn't be able to fit into our lives. God should own our hearts, not just be shoved into a corner of our hearts to pull out when we need it. It says in Isaiah 44:6, "Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god." If God goes first, then everything else in our lives that we love will fit. The only way to have a comfortable life is if we give God a comfortable and worthy place in our hearts. If we get into the mindset that one God is not enough, our lives won't truly be filled with joy and peace. God should be and is enough. Francis Chan said in his book Crazy Love, that "while God doesn't need us but still wants us, we desperately need God but don't really want him most of the time." We desperately need God to guide us and love us only as He could. But we often choose to just pick "another outfit". Do we ever stop and think about how that makes God feel? He is the creator of the universe, He created us and we often to choose to willingly put him aside for something more "exciting".

 God didn't have to fill the world with sinners. God would be quite content all by himself, alone in His glory but he chose to create us and live among us. He also chose to save us his only son as the sacrifice that we ourselves actually deserved. God is patient, He is kind. He always trusts, always protects, always hopes, and always perseveres. He never fails. God is love! Even when we fail Him daily, He is always full of grace and forgiveness. We all make mistakes, we're humans but god has grace for those mistakes. He knows we will fail, but He will be right there to catch us. God needs nothing from us but we need so much from Him. However, he gave us life. God doesn't take away life; He gives life to those who want it. Even if our lives don't look exactly how we want them to look, God is in charge. He knows our yesterdays, our todays and our tomorrows. We can trust him and if we give Him number one place in our hearts and hand over the reins, He will work wonders. Our lives are the way God planned them; He knows what will happen. Give God control today; let Him do what He wants in our lives. I can guarantee we will be amazed by the miracles and wonders that will come from it. Don't give up on God, because He will never give up on you. He wants the best for us; lets try to give the best to Him. Don't play dress up with your life; don't pretend to be someone you're not. Let God be your number one.

God Bless